“I didn’t buy foundation until I was 21.”

“I had to ask what to buy. I went into KIKO, which is an Italian makeup store and was like, ‘yeah I want a foundation?’ and she was like, ‘yeah what kind of foundation?’ and I was like ‘Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue!’”

Clara

“I think I like makeup a lot. I think it’s sometimes too much frowned upon or sometimes too much praised. I like it because it can make you feel good about yourself, but you don’t need it to feel good about yourself.

I don’t necessarily think that it has to
make you prettier, I think it’s just maybe a different version of yourself.

I like it sometimes, if I – not if I feel
down but – I feel like I just want to feel a bit maybe fancier or feel good
about myself then I put make up on and I instantly have a bit of a boost.

I don’t really have a bad relationship with
make up cause I just think it’s a tool to bring out even more of what you are.

You’re pretty enough without makeup but
with makeup you can be even a bit prettier. You can also overdo it and put way
too much on and then you look like a real clown.

I think it’s a very cool thing, I like it a
lot, use in moderation.

Have
you ever felt pressured to wear it?

I have felt pressured to wear makeup; in
high school all the girls started wearing makeup.

First they started with mascara and then it
was foundation, or concealer, and I was always comparing myself, like hmm I
have those dark spots under my eyes as though I felt super tired, and yeah then
I felt as though I had to but I never actually did it.

Even in high school I didn’t bother to put
makeup on because I didn’t have time. I thought I’d rather sleep!

It wasn’t until a few years back that I decided to buy my first foundation. I think I was twenty-one, every other girl had it already, and I was like, oh my god it’s my first foundation. I didn’t feel pressured into it, but I saw that it can make you feel pretty and look pretty so yeah.

How
was that experience?

I had to ask what to buy. I went into KIKO, which is an Italian makeup store and was like, ‘yeah I want a foundation?’ and she was like, ‘yeah what kind of foundation?’ and I was like ‘Don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue!’

And then she helped me and explained what
type of skin I might have and what kind of foundation would work with it and
that was funny. It felt weird putting it on at home with a makeup brush. I was
like ‘oh!’ I feel like a woman now.

How
often would you wear makeup now?

The last couple of times I went out I
didn’t bother to wear makeup at all. Sometimes I will just wear mascara or what
I love is lipstick, sometimes I don’t even put on mascara I just put on
lipstick, I just love it.

And sometimes I have a full on, full face
makeup with everything and I love it, but it depends on the mood.

One night I went out with friends to a
party and I felt pretty good. I don’t know, it was just a normal day. I felt
average to good. I didn’t put any make up on because I was like, oh I don’t
want to be bothered with that, I don’t mind, whatever.

And then I met a guy in the party and he was
like ‘Oh, you look so tired.’ This was the conversation started. It wasn’t like
‘Hey how are you’, it was ‘you look tired and I’m like ‘oh well’, and he’s like
‘yeah you have dark circles under your eyes as though someone punched you’.

And I’m like – okay.

And instantly my self-confidence went from
like 100 to like minus ten I think. And I was like ‘Oh damn’, I got to put on
makeup. I need concealer, and I need mascara and I need foundation, because I
felt like crap.

And thank god there were girls who were
very supporting, and they were like ‘oh you don’t need makeup, you look nice,
you don’t look as if someone punched you in the face, you look really okay, you
don’t have to put on anything. You can if you want to, if it makes you feel
better, but that shouldn’t define your night and it shouldn’t define your self-confidence’.

A post shared by MTMM (@morethanmymakeup) on Oct 1, 2018 at 10:53am PDT

What
would you say to someone else about makeup?

I would say don’t worry so much about it.
If you feel that you have to put on makeup then you should maybe ask yourself
why do you feel that way.

If it’s because other girls tell you or
make you feel ugly this is not the right reason to put on makeup, because
you’re definitely beautiful enough without any kind of help.

If you want to try makeup or just use it,
basically, then go for it but don’t feel pressured into it. Because in the end
it’s your face that you’re going to live with, and nothing else will make you
different, because it’s also your personality that speaks to people.

It’s not only like if you have a highlighter on or not, it’s what you radiate outside. Don’t worry too much about it. If you like it, use it. If you don’t like it don’t use it. It’s just makeup.”

Real conversations with real women about the impact makeup has on their lives.